Intercession
by ChrysMoon
Summary: A look at the Strawhats' lives during the two years they are separated. Completed, just waiting for me to finish betaing them. Written to keep me busy during the month-long hiatus.
1. Nami

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. This is for fun and to keep myself busy during the month-long hiatus.

1. Nami

_Tea Times_

It's so light, the taste. The barest hint of sweet chrysanthemums mingled with the scent of jasmine, melting together into the light background of green tea. Normally, this would calm and reinvigorate Nami immediately, but this time it didn't do the trick.

"Is something wrong with the tea, Miss?" Haredas came in with some tea cakes.

"No! It's really delicious," Nami shook her head and smiled wanly, "but… but it's not _his_ tea."

Haredas looked curiously at the sudden melancholy. She was so enthusiastic about the weather garden for the past few days, absorbing everything knowledge he imparted like a sponge. And now –

"And it's too quiet. There's no music, no idiot telling tall tales and even a bigger idiot gazing in awe, no swordsman training and banging weights, no one talking about ancient histories, no tinkering of machinery, no loud crashes in the kitchen because that idiot Lu-"

All traces of emotion suddenly vanished from her face. Nami took the tea cup and raised it to her face, almost hiding behind it. "Sorry. I'm complaining too much."

"Do you miss your crew?"

"No… We'll meet again in two years, so it's no use to miss them when I will see them again."

Something's still bothering her though. Haredas didn't think Nami lied about missing her friends, so he tried to think of something else. "Having trouble with the Sunny weather ball?" Haredas hazard a guess. Nami's hand trembled, a tear drop of tea trickling down the side.

"Miss, you're doing very well already. I've never seen anyone gain so much progress as a beginner on a weather ball."

The cup wavered, but stayed in front of her face.

"Once you've master the Sunny ball, the others will come easier, although you need to learn how to grow a weather ball as well, and that's quite difficult. It took me twenty years to perfect a fertilizer that can be used for both Light and Dark ones. It's not easy to grow weather balls into the exact ones you want. Hohohoho!"

The other hand went up to the support the cup while her head drooped lower.

"You should also take a break, Miss. You have to be properly relaxed and focused to notice the changes inside the weather ball. You're too tense right now."

Her shoulders drooped too.

Haredas sighed, not sure what else to do. He served a slice of cake to each of them, and ate his portion quickly. Nami still didn't move.

"Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, o-"

"Shut up, you annoying old man!" Nami finally snapped and punched Haredas. He sat up behind the fallen chair, looking scared for his life. "…What?"

"What kind of person is Monkey D. Luffy?" Haredas let out a decidedly unmanly squeal when she suddenly lowered the teacup. Shadows covered her eyes, preventing the old man to gauge her mood. He forged on anyway. "Even though we don't get news often, everyone on the sky islands knows the events on Skypiea. S-so, I was wondering if you could tell us about him…"

"Yeah. Like did he really clobber Enel with a magical material only found in Vearth?" One head suddenly popped beside Nami's elbow.

"Or was his superhuman strength bestowed upon him by the dancing wolves the night before he defeated Enel?"

"Did he really eat a ton of food by himself?"

"Can you get me his autograph?"

By now, Haredas's tiny house was crammed with people shouting questions on the top of their lungs. They were quickly silenced by the pain throbbing from the fist-size lumps on their heads bestowed by a very irritated navigator.

"He…" The old men looked up from their whining to look at Nami who was staring out at the window, looking at something very far away. "He's the biggest idiot I've ever known in my life. Absolutely no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Always getting in trouble and shouting for food, and always dragging us into danger with him. Trying to explain anything to him is like teaching a Southbird to face north. Ever since I joined his crew, I've never had a peaceful day in my life."

Suddenly, she looked back at them and smiled brilliantly. "But… I'm proud that he's my captain, because he's the strongest, kindest, and the most fun-loving person I've ever met."

The men stared at her as if they received some hidden wisdom. "Tell us a story, Miss. Tea time's not complete without a story!"

"Sure!" Nami's smile turned a shade predatory. "But it will cost one billion berries per story!"

"WHAT?"

Nami motioned for them to wait. "And because I like you guys so much, I'll give you a 90% discount for today only! One million berries per story! Do we have a deal?"

The scholars whispered at each other for a few seconds and nodded. Nami was a bit shocked. How much money do these old guys have anyway? With their bad business sense, Nami thought they would back down for sure because they don't have money. Whatever. It _might_ be because of their bad business sense that they agreed anyway.

She took a sip from the now cold tea, mentally sighing. Her mind and heart felt so heavy; it's as if she doesn't deserve to drink something this light and… happy. Luffy went through so many horrible things in the short time of a week, and she –

"Sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to bump into you." Haredas smiled, and moved the tea set outside to accommodate the ever-growing crowd at his house. Shrugging, Nami moved to the window seat so she wouldn't get injured from the bustle.

As the people around her brought chairs outside and called to others to come and listen, she looked back at the window. She could see the waver she 'borrowed' from one of the scholars tied to a dock, bobbing in the waves. The left handle was wrapped in white bandages marked with an 'X' to tag it as hers.

_It's only two years. By then, I'll show you how much my skills have improved. Wait for us,_ _Luffy!_


	2. Sanji

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. This is for fun and to keep myself busy during the month-long hiatus.

2. Sanji

_Contemplation_

In a hallway dimly lit by moonlight, Sanji flitted from shadow to shadow until he landed in a particularly large one, and melted into it.

He found this secret room by accident, crash landing into it from a kick by Ivankov. From their frantic searching and shouting, Sanji realized that no one on Kamabakka knew of this room. He would be safe here.

Lighting the candle inside a dark lantern, he took out a scroll from his jacket, and before he could dropped it into the empty chest, he fell instead. Closing his eyes tired, Sanji tried to stay awake so he could take a look at the recipe. He's been here for a few weeks, and today he finally managed to get one recipe from a newkama.

"Who knew that those shitty cross dressers could fight so well?" He murmured sleepily, mind slipping into dream. He felt like he could sleep for a year…

When he almost fell asleep, he jumped up, gasping for breath. "Wait. I can't sleep yet. I have to finish kicking those newkama's butts so I can go find Robin-chan and Nami-san and escort them safely to Sabaody." He tried to stand up, but a shrill pain shot up from his right leg, causing him to immediately fall on his face.

"_You have to be careful!"_

"Chopper?"

"_Your Diable techniques are powerful, and, because of that, they put much more strain on your leg than your normal techniques. If you don't rest after using it, you'll tear your tendons! Then you won't even be able to stand."_

"_But I can't just randomly stop in a fight!"_

_Chopper looked thoughtful. "Well, then you have to take breaks. You have to stop every ten minutes using it, or else your leg will be useless."_

"_Don't worry." Sanji stood up from the bed. "The fight would have been finished long before those ten minutes are up."_

It took every bit of his strength to flip himself on his back. "Sorry, Chopper. Guess I need to listen to you more often."

The candle sizzled and flickered, bringing out the emptiness and silence of the room.

"I wonder how my two beautiful ladies are doing tonight? They must miss me so." Sanji sighed happily. "Brooks and Franky should be fine, Usopp… Well, he could probably bluff his way out of anything. The mosshead can die for all I care, …but he'll definitely live to disappoint me. Chopper … I hope he's okay. Maybe he landed on some island that made him Animal King again." He chuckled.

_And Luffy…_

"Found him yet?" Ivankov's voice boomed from the floor. Sanji jumped and shut the lamp window, and listened intently. No voices could be heard. Was he dreaming? No. He definitely heard Ivankov's voice from the floor…? Below him?

Sanji put his ear on the surface in time to hear someone apologizing.

"… no trace of him, Ivan-sama. I'm sorry! Not only did I lose to him, I also lost sight of him as well."

"It's fine. The voy is strong, that's not surprising. What Vi am surprised about is that ve haven't found the voy yet!" ?

"Is it possible that he had escaped?"

"No! He staked his manhood on the fight!" Sanji could hear Ivankov's high heels as he stepped down from his throne, looking thoughtful. "No, he must have found somewhere to hide. He's waiting to get the other cooking ways while our guards are down! Everyone! Stay alert. There's no telling when he will strike."

"Yes, Ivan-san!" Footsteps echoed up to him, slowly fading into nothing. Making sure that no footsteps approached his hiding spot, Sanji relaxed, turning the dark lantern until there's only a crack open.

"Guess I'm safe, for now. I need to make sure that this place doesn't get discovered." Sanji stretched out and finally started to relax, before he realized something.

"'Cooking way'? Shouldn't it be 'recipes'?" Sanji sat up, trying to think clearly. "99 newkamas, 99 recipes, right? So why did he…" He grabbed the scroll and ripped it open.

"Huh? "99 ways to prepare garlic"? Stop joking around!" The scroll was about to fly out of his hand, when his eyes caught the first line, "Recipe #1 – Mince coarsely then hot water bath for 30 seconds. Recipe #5 - …"

"No way… This only a part of the 99 recipes." Sanji glanced over the scroll, finding some 60-odd ways to prepare garlic for the numbered recipes. "So each scroll contains the ways to prepare an ingredient for a recipe. After I gather 99 scrolls, I will have 99 recipes."

"Alright." He stood back up, dusting his pants. "98 scrolls to go. I can't afford to waste time!"

_Nami-san, Robin-chan, how was your day today?_

_I am one step closer to finish my training and getting out of this hell, and one step closer to finding you two. I hope you two had a wonderful day. _

_Wait for me, for I will come to take you back to Sabaody!_


	3. Chopper

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. This is for fun and to keep myself busy during the month-long hiatus.

3. Chopper

_Sunrise_

The sun's daily morning ascension began as usual, with the blood orange hue silhouetting the figure of a reindeer in mid-leap. Jumping from branch to branch, Chopper began his morning ritual of gathering herbs and plants that he hadn't seen in the books at the library. He treaded lightly, for most of the birds were still asleep. The only ones awake were the two on the top nest.

"Good morning, Chichi!" Chopper smiled as the chick cooed and flapped her wings in greeting. "Let's take a look at your foot."

Easing the cast off, he bended the ankle and the leg experimentally. "Looks good. You'll be able to walk tomorrow!"

By now, the mother bird also woke up, and she shrilled cheerfully at the news.

"Shut up! Your thanking me doesn't make me happy at all, you idiots!" Clapping and dancing, Chopper giggled while the two birds looked on confused. The mother bird shrugged, and launched herself into the air, sounding her morning call.

"Good thing I remembered that I had this. It helped you heal so much faster." The casing frame retracted into a size Chopper could fit into his bag, he tucked it in happily. "I'm so glad that Usopp finished making this before we - "

At once, the doctor's happy disposition turned into depression at the thought of the day that the crew was separated. Leaving the basket of herbs, he flopped down beside Chichi, watching the sun rise.

"_You're my friend! Now let's go!"_

"I wonder how's everyone doing…" Chopper muttered sleepily. "Brook's back… I wonder if it survived being slammed against the ground. Franky must be out of cola by now. Nami might have gotten into trouble from stealing treasure, and Robin might've been captured and sent to Impel Down, and Usopp is being chased by giant squid noodles cooked by Sanji while he's training, and Zoro definitely is lost somewhere and getting injured in the process, and Luffy must still be hurt from Marineford and now he's going to stress himself to death from overtraining! Ah, doctor! They need a doctor!"

Chichi watched, chirping, as Chopper gets more and more riled up by the imaginary woes his mind conjured. At the end, the doctor frantically dashed around, looking for a doctor, until Chichi trilled amusingly.

"Oh, yeah. That's right. I am their doctor." Chopper scratches his head and laughed nervously. He sat beside the baby bird again, sighing forlornly. "And I can't go help them out right now, because I need to finish my own training."

Chopper puffed his cheeks out, pouting. He missed his friends so much, and there's no telling how injured they might be…

"_If you were to be defeated by a pawn born in the East Blue like me, then what kind of pawn are you?"_

"_Don't worry, Chopper. Luffy's strong! You just have to trust him to come through."_

"_I am Sogeking, the ruler of the Kingdom of Snipers!"_

"_I WANT TO LIVE!"_

"_That's the taste of the East Blue's love."_

"_Thank… Thanks for telling me about Laboon. I'm sure he and I can wait for a year or two before we meet again. I must go see him from the other side of the Grand Line."_

"_Will you … ride on the dream ship that I've built?"_

"_This pirate flag means freedom!"_

To Chichi's surprise and delight, Chopper suddenly smiled. "But what am I worried about? They'll be fine! They're all really strong, and after these two years they'll be even stronger. I can't fall behind! I'll become stronger too! I can't have everyone guarding me all the time."

He picked up his basket of herbs again, preparing to go down the tree. "Okay! Now, to analyze these herbs and see what they can do!"


	4. Usopp

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. This is for fun and to keep myself busy during the month-long hiatus.

4. Usopp

_Dreaming_

"Keep running, Usopp'n!" Heracles shouted at the chubby man in front of him who was rapidly losing speed. "If they cut us off here'n, then we'll have to turn towards the center of the island! We must keep up the pattern!"

"I know that!" Ussop's speed increased a bit. "But we've been running for three hours straight! I need a break…" The word seemed to have triggered what Ussop liked to call I-don't-care-if-I-die-I-just-want-to-rest disease, and caused him trip and fell flat on his face.

"Aah! Usopp'n!" Hercules tried to grab on to the fallen man and drag him along, but instead he also fell from his friend's weight.

"Ah! That's right." Usopp sat up, digging around his belt. "It's time for the Great Usopp-sama's ultimate invention!"

A rope shot out from his belt and flew toward a high branch. Hercules stared, shocked and amazed. "Usopp AahAaahAahAahAahAah!"

The two were jerked out of their spot just in time for the lion caterpillar to flop to it, maws open and ready to devour them.

Swinging rapidly away, Usopp looked back at the extremely angry bug. "Ha! Take that you stupid - "

CRACK!

"What was that?" Both stared at each other, before hesitantly looking up. The branch was slowly being ripped off the trunk by their combined weight, and finally decided trying to stay attached was too much of an effort, and fell.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Ugh! Ack! Hurk! AAA - " The noises of the pair falling through branches finally stopped as Usopp crashed into a soft pile of penne in alfredo sauce and Hercules landed on a soft pile of Usopp's fat.

"Ah, we're saved! And my name is Hercules'n~!" The beetle man stood up and struck a pose to celebrate their survival.

"No, we're not! That stupid caterpillar is – huh?" The falling branch had landed on the caterpillar, killing it instantly. The surrounding carnivorous plants were busy feasting on the bug. "Now's my chance…" Usopp strode casually around the plants, picking up their Pop Greens as he went. Soon, he had a sack full of them.

"Today was a good day," Usopp looked at the little seeds once they were back to camp. "With a bit more refinement, these will become my best weapon yet! And then everyone will promote me to be the captain…"

Usopp sighed, setting his bag down. He had been avoiding this problem for too long, and he could think of nothing. It's time to ask Heracles so he could bounce ideas. "Heracles!"

"Yes, I am Herac -"

"I know, and I have a question!" Usopp ignored the man's crestfallen face. "These Pop Greens are great, but it's not like I could bring the island with me when I go back to my crew. Once I leave, I can't replace these!"

"Well, you could use them to gain strength instead of as a weapon."

"But I'm a sharpshooter, not a close range fighter!"

The soup bubbled, and Heracles shrugged to turn his attention back to the meal.

"I'm at my best in sniping." Usopp muttered. "I have to find a way to bring the Pop Greens back with me."

They ate quickly, since it was a tiring day, and while Heracles quickly fell asleep, Usopp sat by the fire to think of ideas he could try in the morning.

"Maybe… Nah, too heavy… but if I… that wouldn't float at all… Fly… too heavy…grow them… No way! The Sunny is not turning into a monster yard…." Usopp sighed, staring at the fire sleepily. "If Franky were here, he would probably come up with something to transport large amounts of it without sinking… He better be taking care of the Sunny…Chopper would make medicine out of these, so I have to bring extra for him…Luffy would die of happiness know that an island made of food exists, and Sanji would be angry at how delicious they taste, and then make them even better…I could even upgrade Nami's Climatact with these…Need to make sure she pays me this time…Nami and Robin could probably get stronger with these too…Not Zoro, since he's already a monster…Brook has no muscles, but it might help his bones to not break so much…Yeah, I really need a massive amount of this to come back with me…"

The fire crackled in a lullaby as Usopp slept and dreamed.

A/N: Buffsop! He looks great and strong! Kind of remind me of Ace with the pose at the bar…


	5. Franky

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. This is for fun and to keep myself busy during the month-long hiatus.

5. Franky

_Legend_

It's dark in the secret laboratory, which was something that never happened before. Every time Kitton came to visit, the place is always brightly lit, with torches blowing or Franky holding a blueprint up to the lights and muttering about something or other. He squinted into the distance, trying to find the shape of a gorilla in the darkness. Kitton thought the gorilla disguise hilarious, even though it scared Taroimo to death.

"Franky-san! It's me, Kitton. I came to tell you that the cola won't be here for another week or so! Franky-san?"

He flicked the switch on.

The place was impeccable. Every tool in its place, no papers scattered haphazardly, no metal shavings dusting the ceiling.

"What happened here?"

_Two days ago…_

"Damn it. That was my last bottle!" Franky stared at the empty stomach compartment and sighed. "I guess boiling hot tea will have to do for now."

_Now…_

Taroimo sniffed at the tea container and barked. Kitton opened it to find it empty except for a message to send some tea to a person named "Brook".

"He really drank the ginger tea I left for him?" Kitton stared at the tea pot. "Oh, no! That means - "

_Meanwhile, at the temporary marine base camp in the mountains…_

"Who would be foolish enough to send a card before stealing something? I think this thing is a joke from that crazy guy who blew up Vegapunk's lab."

Two marine lieutenants stared at the card that was received yesterday, which says,

_To the Marines,_

_I will be taking your gunpowder and metal supplies from your stockpile at 15 to midnight. I hope I will not inconvenience you with my actions. _

_Sincerely yours,_

_Cutty Flam_

_Shipwright Extraordinaire of the Thousand Sunny_

"But the captain said that Cyborg Franky's real name is actually Cutty Flam, so this thing is real."

"Huh… But what would he need gunpowder for? Do you think he's making a weapon to use against us?"

"That's definitely it, but we don't know where he is and the captain said that we can't destroy anything on this island. Everything here is a treasure."

"If you have time to chitchat, then maybe I should assign you to cleaning duties instead."

"Captain Sark!" The two lieutenants saluted hastily. "Sorry, sir. We will be more vigilant from now on sir!"

"But appear relaxed. We don't want him to think that we're taking his warning seriously." Sark nodded. "Carry on."

"Yes, sir!"

Glancing at his watch which showed it was seventeen minutes before midnight, he surveyed the grounds and mentally counting off the placements of the patrol officers. Everything was normal. He set his sword to the side, and took up his binoculars.

He waited for five minutes before taking out his baby Den Den Mushi. "Anything happened?"

"No, sir. Everything normal. All patrols report no sigh of suspicious activity."

"Keep looking. And make sure that weapons room is in everyone's vision."

"Yes, sir."

_Twelve minutes later…_

"Is this really a hoax?" Sark stared at his watch, perplexed. It was midnight and all stations reported normal. He went to the weapons room, and the two lieutenants from before were standing guard and looking alert.

"At ease. Anything?"

"No sir. No suspicious activity whatsoever."

"Let me see the storeroom."

The two opened the big padlock and let Sark inside.

"No suspicious activity?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then the two of you will explain to me why this place is empty?"

The storeroom was indeed empty with no supplies in sight. One of the lieutenants laughed, and explained. "Oh, that? A gentleman in a blue suit came by and said he needed to move the stuff to a new location. We thought that this was one of your ideas, sir, to move the gunpowder somewhere else while we guard this place. That way, when the guy comes, he'll find an empty room and we'll catch him. We even loaded the stuff for him!" They laughed at their helpfulness, but the chuckles died at the angry look on his face.

"And that didn't count as suspicious activity?" Pulling out the Den Den Mushi, Sark began rapidly issuing orders. "I want all available light sources on, and every inch of ground searched for prints leading outside the camp. If you find any, get on the trail with a team. Someone go to the destroyed labs to make sure that nothing is disturbed. The two of you, bring me a torch. And don't screw this up."

The two left almost crying.

Sark squinted at the room, a bit amazed at how one man was capable of carrying away an entire roomful of supplies without drawing attention to himself. Suddenly, Sark felt something under his foot.

"Hmm?" He stared at the piece of paper.

_I have successfully retrieved the goods. Thank you for leaving them at a convenient place with such good helpers._

_Until next time._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Cutty Flam_

_Shipwright Extraordinaire of the Thousand Sunny_

The paper ended up as a ball thrown across the room in anger. "Don't think you'll get away with this, Cyborg Franky!"

_The news of the theft spread like wildfire, and it became known as "the Legend of the Gentleman Thief"._

A/N: Wow! Suuuper design change! Why did you shave your head, Franky? I'm hoping that those arms are detachable because he won't fit through the doors!


	6. Brook

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. This is for fun and to keep myself busy during the month-long hiatus.

6. Brook

_No Bones About It_

"Yohohohoho! You caught me again! Please don't eat me! Ah!" Brook sat up in the cage. "You can't, since I'm only bones!"

"Then stop wandering into the traps, you moron!" A stick thin woman, almost as skinny as Brook, whacked him on the head. "We're wasting precious energy with these false alarms."

"Leader, let's tie him up and sink him. We don't need such abominations scaring away the food supply." A man spoke up.

"Wait! I can't die yet!" Brook shouted back, "Even though I am already dead!"

"Stop with the jokes!" The group of hunters yelled back.

"But I can help you!" Brook rubbed the lump on his head. "I can fight, so I can help you hunt."

"I guess, in return, you want to know the way to cross Old Yama, right?" The woman's eyes swiveled back to him.

"Leader, I spot movement 30 meters away!"

The cage snapped open at her command. "Come! If we finish this run successfully, I will consider allowing you inside the village."

~SoulKingForever~

The Thin-Thin Village eyed the skeleton walking with their leader admiringly, since the skinnier you are the longer you'll live. The most focus, however, is on the giant antelope carried by the four hunters. An instant cheer rang out, and everyone dropped what they were doing to stare at the meat, drool hanging on their mouths.

"Everyone!" The leader jumped on a roof. "We'll be feasting tonight! Have every available hand come to prepare for the curing!"

"AYE!" Everyone rushed to get knives and wood to begin curing the animal.

"You! Skeleton." Brook turned to the woman. "Come with me."

They went into the biggest hut in the middle of the village. "You are fast, for a dead person. And a good fighter."

"I'm surprised at how fast you are!" Brook sat down at the proffered seat. "I had to work really hard to catch up with you. And I'm not that good. There is a much better swordsman in the group I'm trying to go back to."

"The Thin-Thin people have always been light, and that is necessary to catch the animals on this island."

"But there is much vegetation around."

"Few are edible. And those who are take time to cultivate. So, thank you for your help with the run. You may have a share of the lard."

"Thank you kindly." Brook took of his hat and bowed. "Ah, where was my manners? My name is Brook."

"I am called Leeta." The woman nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Leeta." Brook smiled courteously, and then asked. "Well, then, Miss Leeta, may I see your panties?"

"… What are these "panties"?"

Brook fainted into a pool of his blood to the surprise of Leeta.

~SoulKingForever~

"_Old MacDonald had a farm, eieio! I don't know the words after this, eieio!"_

Brook sang as he led a ring of people dancing around the fire, celebrating the big pot of stew bubbling in the center. The people in the village had been teaching him some of the local songs, and he was trying them out on the guitar.

"Sorry about wanting to toss you into the sea there!" The man behind Brook shouted. "The name's Fulcrum." He bobbed his pointy head.

"It's fine! I learned much about speed from you guys, so I'm going to stay for a bit to train here." Brook laughed. "And to celebrate the beginning of a new friendship, I shall sing my latest song, "No Bones About It"!"

A/N: This one is very far off, isn't it? That's why I'm not writing OP. SOUL KING FOREVER!


End file.
